2016 Alachua County Elections Guide

EDIT: 8/28/16:After talking to people at the Grayson (US Senate) and Zedalis (Alachua Sheriff) campaigns and community members whose support they’ve earned I’d like to encourage everyone to support them. Their politics are better than their opponents and there’s so much doubt in their domestic violence cases to warrant a support. Thank you to the strong feminist who took the time to talk me through this.

You can skip the reasoning and see my recommendations here. Whatever you do, make sure you vote. You can vote early though Saturday, August 27th from 9-5PM (6PM on Thursday) at:

You can also find your voting location here if you want to vote on election day

The easy stuff:

Hutch vs McDaniel for County Commission 3 is going to be a land slide for Hutch. I like McDaniel and hope he runs for something again. I’ll be voting for Hutch because he’s been a champion for working families and the environment.

Kim Barton for Supervisor of Elections. While all the candidates are very qualified I think she’ll do the best for outreach which will help drive up voter turnout.

The hard decisions:

There are only 2 races that really interest me for the August 30th election in Alachua County. Complicated histories between the Chamber of Commerce, white environmentalist, and the African American community has come to a head. Most of the issues stem from Envision Alachua. If you need to get caught up The Fine Print has a pretty comprehensive read on it. The short and long of it is that African American people in Alachua County, like much of America, are more poor, have less opportunity, and are less healthy than their white neighbors. The mostly white environmentalist opposed the plan which promised economic salvation to the African American community at the cost of sensitive wet lands. The two incumbent candidates in this race are white and have been steadily against Envision Alachua while the two insurgent candidates are African American and supportive.

One argument against Byerly that is sticking is that he served 16 years as a commissioner. While hard to unpack concisely- the entire notion of term limits is undemocratic and highly corrosive to a functioning government. If institutional knowledge isn’t kept with our elected officials it will rest in un-elected staff and lobbyist. But the sound bite that Byerly is career politician plays well.

Byerly founded Stand By Our Plan and was the tip of the spear in the Envision Alachua fight back.

The main issue I have with Kinsey isn’t his age or experience. I’m sure he’d do a fine job. It gives me pause that he’s funded by a lot of right wing and reactionary sources. What really worries me is that he seems to be supporting people whose politics I despise. I’ve yet to get a good explanation as to why Thorpe and Kinsey were at Kieth Perry’s campaign kick off (starts at 2:40).

My farm in Waldo is close to 40 acres that Vince Lipsio owns. He allows unregulated hunting on his 40 acres. When I told Vince his “caretaker” was hunting out of season, brags about killing owls, hawks, fox, as well as trespassing on my land, Vince DID NOTHING except complain that he has a broken leg and can’t do anything. I wouldn’t vote for him!

It is entirely inaccurate and irresponsible to say that Zedalis “was fired for Domestic Violence” based on any ACSO investigation, and the link provided here was written at the beginning of a long series of events. This use of old news instead of a more recent article is curiously predjudicial. The original internal investigation was terminated due to surrounding controversy including obvious conflicts of interest. FDLE conducted the necessary investigation. The results were that Zedalis and his estranged wife were cleared of those charges, and Sheriff Darnell subsequently fired them both. One of the many reasons that I am voting for Zedalis is my own and others’ shameful treatment by the agency in matters involving Domestic Violence, including the falsification of reports and refusal of responding deputies to investigate these crimes, leaving victims without an accurate report or worse; a report that flips the actual victim into the perpetrator. A sucessful prosecution of a violent criminal becomes impossible, the victim is victimized again by being denied access to justice, and knows that calling for emergency assistance is a giant waste of time. At best. In any case, the fact of any given individual being accused of anything by ACSO is in no way equivalent to a Guilty verdict in a court of law.

You’re not the first person to bring this up to me. I voted for Zac too but don’t feel comfortable advocating for other people to vote for him with the domestic violence accusations still murky in my opinion. This quote here sticks out to me.

“However, an allegation that he shoved Kathy Zedalis in a car when driving was sustained and was one reason for the termination. He unsuccessfully appealed to Darnell and has no other avenue of appeal, said Sgt. Brandon Kutner, ASO’s spokesman.”

About

The Straw Hat is a political blog primarily written by Jeremiah Tattersall based out of Gainesville, Florida. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to those who wrote them. For more information contact us at info@thestrawhat.org